CrySP Lab Space Allocation

Seating in the lab (DC3332) is managed by the Quartermaster, which is currently Thomas. Although the Quartermaster is expected to follow the rules below, it is ultimately up to them to decide what seating arrangement is in the best interest of the lab.

Keyfobs

All incoming CrySP students, whether seated in the lab or not, should have access to the lab granted to their keyfobs. Speak to the Quartermaster if you have any issues with this.

Some older students still have physical keys for the lab. These are being phased out, and all students with keys should now have keyfob access as well. Please speak to Greg McTavish to return your physical key and get your key deposit back.

CrySP Lounge

The CrySP Lounge, distinct from the CS Lounge, is for use by all faculty and student members of CrySP. It can be used to hold regular meetings, group project meetings (as long as one member of the group is a CrySP member), office hours, social events, or informal gatherings.

There is a large television with VGA and HDMI connections available to act in lieu of a projector. The network jacks below the TV are connected to the eduroam network, and thus should work with any laptop.

Changing seats

Although seats are assigned pseudorandomly when new students arrive, it is sometimes possible to accommodate individual preferences. The Quartermaster keeps a private waiting list of requests for changes, which is adjusted on a case-by-case basis to take seniority and personal factors into account. In general, two students can arrange to swap desks at any time, but this must be cleared with the Quartermaster first. If desks are swapped in a way that conflicts with the private waiting list, the Quartermaster will step in and the change will not be honoured.

Part-time and absentee students

Part-time students can still be considered for space in the lab, as long as the space is not needed for another incoming student. However, students that rarely (or never) use their cubicle (for purposes other than storage) will not be considered a priority, regardless of their current status. If you only need to maintain remote access to your lab computer, speak to the Quartermaster and it can be moved to the machine room.

Information for the current Quartermaster

The current Quartermaster is: Thomas

The Quartermaster should maintain a seating chart, which should be kept synchronized with the one managed by Greg McTavish. They should also maintain a private waiting list (as described above), and in general try to keep track of incoming and departing students as far in advance as possible.

• The Quartermaster is the primary liaison between Greg McTavish and the rest of the lab as far as lab membership goes. Greg should be kept informed of the name and email address of the current Quartermaster at all times.
• Greg informs new students of their office locations and desk numbers, grants or revokes access to keyfobs, and makes requests to CSCF for provisioning new computers or decommissioning old ones. Changes or special requests for these things can be made through them. Requests for changes to the access control list should be made by email, to establish a record.
• Faculty members inform Greg of incoming CrySP students so they are automatically given fob access, desk space, and (where necessary) computers. The Quartermaster should communicate with Greg before the student arrives in order to make sure our internal rules are being followed.
• Graduating students or students switching to part-time status do not need to have their space decommissioned right away, if they are still using it. When assigning space to new students, try to assign them to a desk that is not being actively used.
  • For example, it is not uncommon for a PhD student to stick around after their defense, in order to finish some projects before moving on to their new home. Greg would naturally revoke their space and assign it to an incoming student, even though there might be another space that is currently unused (such as a student that has moved to part-time status and already cleared out their space).
• Other than making sure new computers are sent to the right desks and old ones are removed at the right time, the Quartermaster is not responsible for managing students' interactions with CSCF. Students should speak with our CSCF Point of Contact on their own behalf.

Suggested CrySP Rules

Ignore rule i if rule j < i solves the problem.

1. Don't assign lab space to a student who has space in a different lab or who is rarely on campus.
2. At least two lab spaces per faculty.
3. Don't take away lab space from a student unless a faculty has fewer than two spaces (e.g., after a sabbatical) or a student ends up being in the lab rarely (to be defined).
4. Seniority (i.e., length of time a student has been a CrySP graduate student).
5. Prefer Master's to PhD students.
   • Based on seniority, a PhD student will likely end up in the lab at some point. PhD students are more independent and know how to do research, so Master's students might benefit more from lab environment.
6. Student A if student A's supervisor currently has fewer spaces than student B's.
7. Toss a coin.
8. Battle to the death.